by Filip Galetic

Jordan F. delights with the latest record that ranks up with the best examples of Outrun Synthwave sub-genre.

Outrun fans will rejoice hearing the steaming fresh new LP by Sydney’s Jordan F. Its quintessential Rosso Corsa sound will feel right at home on your playlist that already has Lazerhawk and Miami Nights 1984 on it.

The record starts with the epic “Abandon Streets” that at the whopping 10 and a half minutes provides a mini journey of its own with flashes of gelled up hair, sleek wet-rain sports cars, neon lipstick and danger.

The track offers plenty of drama, adrenaline soaked sections alternating with quieter bridges, all coated in a rolling arpeggiated bass line.

The second track, “Take Flight” has an uplifting and emotional progression with a cinematic flair.

“Into the Night” is the first stand out track of the album with an infectious fade in and main hook that compares to such Rosso Corsa classics such as Miami Nights 1984 “Saved by the Bell” or Lost Years’ “Storm”. It only loses a bit of momentum in the middle of the track but quickly recovers.

Track nr. 4, starts off softly, aptly to its name “Space Romance”. One minute into the song, and you’re in for a pure synth bliss with a gentle but unrelenting riff carrying you through.

“Nightwave” is the fifth track and it brings back some of the thrill into the album with a heart pounding mix of deep synth bass and undulating lead.

In track nr. 6, we seem to go back into the more romantic territory. The track’s name “Hologram Rose” is a reference to the 1976 short story by William Gibson. The story tells of a man who in a bleak future uses sense-recordings of his ex-lover to be able to fall asleep. I haven’t read it but the track does convey that poignant sensibility this story might possess.

Second stand out track of the album, “So Close” immediately hits you with those haunting reverb-y synths in the background and builds up an aural image of some kind of futuristic intrigue playing out before your eyes.

The album closes by making a full circle: here we have a Part II to the opening track. The sequel takes the motifs from the filmic opener and plays around with them in new ways.

All in all, “Slipstream” delivers that signature Rosso Corsa Records sound in droves and is primarily mandatory listening for the fans of this particular subgenre of synth wave. For those looking for something new and cutting edge, this might not be the best choice but you certainly cannot deny Jordan F.’s ability to come close to the masters with his sound and provide some very striking auditory imagery.

LISTEN AND PURCHASE HERE!

<a href=”http://rossocorsarecords.bandcamp.com/album/slipstream”>Slipstream by Jordan F</a>

By Rhys Pearce

Over the years,

Canada

has had a knack for producing some great music, everything from the likes of

Glenn Gould

to

D.O.A 

and

Miami Nights 1984 are no exception. MN84 is Michael Glover, a synth revival pioneer and helmsman of

Actrazer

. He is also notably known as the founder of the highly influential,

Rosso Corsa Records

, a record label that is responsible for bringing us the likes of,

Lazerhawk, Mitch Murd

er and

Jordan F.

In 2010, MN84 introduced himself to us with the breakthrough album, ‘

Early Summer’

, an accomplished and confident debut featuring 9 tracks of groove ridden, dreamy synth pop. What’s immediately evident here is his ability to encapsulate nostalgic bliss and create towering sounds that stir those deep routed emotions of the 80’s. It became evident at this point that we were dealing with someone with enormous talent.

Picture of MN84 taken by Wolf Sheep Records

During the recording of his second album, a remix he did of

Gotye’s

‘Somebody that I used to know’ exploded onto the internet, even reaching the attention of Rolling Stone, who later featured the song on their website. This would play an integral part in exposing him to a much larger audience and opening the door wider for the new wave synth movement. It’s very rarely that you hear a remix that totally blows the original song out of the water; MN84’s custom sound combined with Gotye’s melodic vocal line, embrace one another like a long lost love and come together as if how fate had intended. On March 18

th

2012, MN84 dropped his anticipated second full length album entitled,

Turbulence, with

many hailing it as his finest work to date. The notable difference between ‘

Early Summer

’ and ‘

Turbulence

’ is that Glover appeared to find an extra gear on

Turbulence

, lifting the atmospheric tones to new heights and packing in extra punches with some seriously memorable hooks.

In the meantime, Glover has been keeping busy with various remixes with the likes of the Grammy nominated,

Electric Youth, as well as Night Crawler, Silent Gloves

and

Kristine

. He has also briefly resurrected

Actazer

, posting a new song online entitled ‘

The Return

’ and has even hinted at a new collaboration project called ‘

Future Noir

’ with close friend,

DJ Murge

.

In March of this year MN84 made a welcome return, posting a new song on his Facebook page, named

 “Reflex Training

’. This subsequently reduced some fans to quivering messes, with one dude stating that his face “….has been melted!”. Even though the song didn’t appear to be a massive departure from the sound heard on his previous record, something tells me that we can expect something very special from the new material. Are you excited? Because I certainly am.

HEY RETROLOVERS, 

NOW YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THE RUMORS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WELL WE ARE HERE TO CONFIRM THAT WHAT YOU HEARD IS IN FACT CORRECT. MPM WILL NO LONGER BE MAKING MUSIC OF THE RETRO KIND. AFTER MANY YEARS OF DELIBERATING AND EXPERIMENTATION, HE IS TRULY LEAVING THE SCENE.

EVEN HIS BLOG SHOWS NO SIGN OF RETRO MUSIC….BUT IT DOES HAVE LAW ADVICE!!

http://mpmsoundtracks.blogspot.com

/

MPM CEASES TO EXIST!

MPM HAS BEEN A GREAT INSPIRATION TO US ALL, BUT WE MUST RESPECT HIS DECISION AND STOP SENDING HIM MESSAGES AND BOTHERING HIM. LET HIM BE! WE WERE GUILTY OF THIS ONCE, BUT NOT AGAIN.

WE WILL, AS A RESULT OF MPM’S REQUESTS, BE TAKING DOWN OF HIS VIDEOS FROM OUR YOUTUBE THIS WEEK……….FOR GOOD……NO MORE MPM WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OUR PAGE APART FROM “SELECT TRACKS, TO WHICH MPM HAS AGREED CAN STAY.

ANOTHER BLOW TO THE SCENE….AGAIN..X2…BUT THIS TIME

MPM MEANS IT!

;(

NRW

YES IT LOOKS THAT WAY….BUT YOU GUYS HAVE TO WAIT ALL THE WAY UNTIL 2014 FOR A LISTEN!!

😉